Constantin Brancusi - The kiss

Constantin Brancusi -
The kiss (1912)

The sculpture depicts two people kissing, who are so close together that they become a compact block. Nevertheless, one can make out clear structures (body separation, arms, hair, eyes). If one looks closely, one can see that the two are connected at the mouth.

One can feel the closeness and mutual protection of these two people. One gets the feeling that the two will never let go of each other again and want to stay together forever. There are no signs of clothing to be seen. This refers back to Adam and Eve, where there was only the two of them and nobody else.

"Although I must honestly admit that I initially thought that this sculpture was a bum, on closer inspection everything immediately became clear to me."

The kiss - protocol

The kiss was holy to the first Christians as a sign of communion in the spirit of love.

The first kiss was close, warm, soft and moist, hot and cold at the same time, unforgettable.

The honest kiss is one that does not want to stop, that absorbs one like a "sea of love" (Shakespeare).

"You may kiss the bride", are the words that announce the newly-wedded couple, often in front of the camera - even in the church.

Full of expectation and the obligation of a betrothal kiss, as applied to important contracts in the Middle Ages.

The surprise kiss - suddenly while dancing, laughing, crying - or a baby you could "just eat up",

The kisses of children, a kiss on the cheek in greeting and goodnight kisses are held in high regard.

When kissing one uses both hands, though unfortunately not always one's brain.

A kiss on the hand of the lady who had stolen one's heart was desirable, less so a kiss on the hand of the parish priest.

During divine service, the priest kisses the altar and in the Eastern Church the icons are also kissed.

Blowing someone a kiss is of little value and some kisses even prove to be false or deceptive.

An indecent kiss is just a question posed on the upper floor as to whether the ground floor is open.

The kiss of Judas was deadly, the brotherly kiss of politicians in the Eastern Block and of the mafia today are deceitful.

Bernhard Frei

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Classical beauty

August Rodin, The Kiss (1889)

The Power of the Kiss

The first kiss between black and white was shown on television in the USA in 1968 (on the Star Trek science fiction series). This interracial kiss in 1968 was an indication of the incipient normalisation of relations between the population groups.

Many (southern) US Federal States, where discrimination continued to prevail, prohibited this Star Trek episode from being broadcast.